Search Results for: couple costumes

This Halloween don’t let the kids be the only ones having fun getting dressed up. Whether you and your partner will be attending a fabulous Halloween bash or taking the little ones trick-or-treating around the neighborhood, spend a little bit of time putting together a fun costume for you and your other half. Here are 12 DIY Halloween costumes couples are sure to love.

The tale of Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland is captivating for both kids and adults. Grab a light blue frock, some bunny ears and an over-sized clock to recreate the characters of Alice and the White Rabbit.

This American Gothic painting costume will require a little bit more DIY elbow grease but you and your partner will certainly stand out in the crowd. Plus, Jennifer from Seakettle has step-by-step instructions on how to re-create this classic portrait.

Buttercup and Wesley, AKA the Dread Pirate Roberts, from The Princess Bride are one of the most beloved couples of all time. Creating these costumes may take a little more effort than others but it’ll be worth it.

If you’re short on time, matching bandit costumes are a great way to go. Raid your closet for jeans, striped shirts, and beanies. Add pillowcases for stolen loot and black face masks to complete the ensemble.

Wilson and Chuck from Cast Away is another easy DIY costume if you’re in a crunch for time. Grab two white t-shirts, a red marker or paint, and print out the FedEx logo and fasten it to a large envelope or manila folder.

Follow this couples’ example for a fun twist on the traditional Peter Pan costume. Have one person dress in all black as Peter’s shadow and then either order a Peter Pan outfit online or head to your local fabric store to pickup a pattern.

Short on time? This DIY costume is easy to put together if you’ve waited until the last minute. Pull two old flannel shirts from your husband’s closet, throw on blue jeans, and use some dark eye shadow to give yourselves a weathered look.

Clarissa Fidler is a 20-something trying to find her place in this world. She grew up in Seattle, attended college in Utah, and recently moved back to the Pacific Northwest after spending the last few years in Chicago obtaining her master’s degree in journalism. Clarissa spends her days working as a higher education professional helping graduate students pursue their passions. In her free time you’ll find her reading the New York Times, cuddling with her cat Harper, catching up on her favorite blogs, enjoying the outdoors, or checking out a new restaurant. If you’d like to read more by Clarissa, check out her blog West Hawthorne Place.

With Halloween just around the corner, no doubt your kids are clamoring for their favorite characters, monsters and dress-ups. Quality costumes can be pricey, and inexpensive costumes can fall apart. If you’d like to try a handmade get-up for the young ones this year, but are short on time, there are plenty of no-sew options out there! For boys and girls, toddlers and tweens, here are the best tutorials that will teach you how to create the perfect no-sew Halloween costumes!

Animals

Snowy Owl – This enormously cute owl costume is quite detailed and takes a bit of time to construct, but it’s all no-sew and totally DIY-able.

Turtle – Make an adorable little turtle with felt, polyfil, glue and felt!

Skunk – Grab some fake fur and a feather boa to create the tell-tale stripes in this super sweet skunk!

Snail – The main feature of this snail – the shell – is constructed out of brown kraft paper! It comes together with your little one’s normal tan clothing, so everything is easy-peasy and reusable.

Bee – Here’s a cute bee that’s great for a boy or a girl and is super easy to create. It’ll take just one afternoon to finish.

Dinosaur – The basis of this costume is an oversized sweatshirt. Glue on some awesome felt spikes and you’ve got a cute and super simple dino!

Unicorn – Bits of felt are pinned onto a sweatshirt for the mane and tail, while felt pieces are wound into a cone shape with ribbon.

Dragon – This how-to will give you the low down for creating a mask and wings, all entirely no-sew, for any color and type of dragon you want.

Food

Cotton Candy – Use polyfil for the body and poster-board for the cone hat and you’ve got some giant cotton candy straight from the circus.

Easy Mac – You’ll never believe what the noodles are made from in this ingenious costume. Toilet paper tubes!

French Fries – Use a long foam cushion to create the fries in this cardboard fry box you can easily strap on.

Popcorn – Tape or pin yellow or white balloons in bunches around your chest and head for popcorn. Update an existing white dress with taped on red construction paper stripes. Easy, cute and creative!

Hamburger – This hamburger (complete with sesame seeds!) is made from fabric but entirely no-sew. All the layers are glued and held over your shoulders with straps. The pickle hat really completes the look!

Donut – There couldn’t be anything cuter than a baby donut with sprinkles! Basically, you just make a small donut pillow out of felt, stuff it and glue it together!

Birthday Cake – Who doesn’t love birthday cake?! Create the triangle shape out of cardboard, and with it strapped around your child’s shoulders, they become the candle with the paper flame headband!

Cupcake – Based on a Pottery Barn Kids costume, this cupcake suit it adorable. There’s a cherry hat as well, just to top it all off!

Pineapple and Strawberry – With just one strategic cut and a few lines drawn with black marker, these felt ponchos are the perfect fruit duo. Add some little caps and you’ve got a pineapple and strawberry that can be worn over very warm clothing – perfect!

From the Movies

Prince Charming – Use a white button down shirt to create this very charming look!

Superheroes – Any superhero at all can be created with felt and glue! These vests can be worn over normal clothing or sweatsuits. They’ll double as dress-ups after Halloween is over.

Buzz Lightyear – It looks incredibly detailed and well done, but don’t be deceived. This costume is totally no-sew, created with paints, regular clothing, cardboard and few other everyday supplies.

Minions – There’s almost nothing you can say about these amazing minions. They’re somewhat elaborate in their construction so they take some time to create, but they’re made from easy to find materials and aren’t difficult to reproduce.

Sleeping Beauty – While this particular tutorial is for Sleeping Beauty, you could easily adapt this for most any Disney princess just by changing the colors.

Pocahontas – Designed around an existing tan dress, the details on this costume are perfect.

Elsa – Using a t-shirt and fabric paint (along with tulle and sequins), you can create a princess dress (Elsa, or anyone else!) that can be worn even after Halloween is over.

Olaf – This cute little Olaf costume is super easy to throw together and all you need to start is a white sweatsuit and a white winter hat!

Charlie Brown – Draw the tell-tale black zig zag on a yellow t-shirt and add one black curl on the forehead with eyeliner and your bald baby makes the perfect Charlie Brown.

Mickey Mouse – Simple regular clothes can be easily turned into Mickey Mouse – use yellow shoe covers or even shower caps glued over shoes, and make some ears on a headband to complete the look. If you’ve got a Minnie Mouse fan, swap the red shorts for a red skirt and tape on white paper dots!

Princess Leia – The robe for this Leia costume is made using fabric tape, but you could glue it together as well.

Jedi Knight Robes – With felt and some fabric belts you can do some creative cutting to make these Jedi robes. Bonus: There’s a how-to for Princess Leia bun headbands as well!

Ninja – It takes no time at all (and very little cost) to cut this colored long-sleeved t-shirt into a ninja jacket. Paired with sweatpants and some super easy kid-friendly, DIY nunchucks this costume is sure to be a hit.

Sock Hop Girl – The 50’s are back – and if you can believe it, this cute poodle skirt is entirely no-sew! All you need is felt and ribbon!

Knight – These knight costumes are also made out of felt pieces glued together. Pair them with some inexpensive props to complete the look.

Mummy – Rip up some white fabric and grab some fabric glue to create this super cute little mummy. You don’t even need scissors!

Cowboy – All you need to do is cut and paste faux leather or suede to make chaps and a vest for your cowboy! Cut strategically to make some fringe and you’re good to go!

Construction Worker (Emmet) – If your kids still love The Lego Movie, you can turn this awesome construction t-shirt into Emmet, no problem! Otherwise, add a hard hat and a stop sign prop and you’ve got a great generic construction costume. The t-shirt is put together entirely with tape!

Monster – This baby beast is pretty adorable. Deck your kiddo out in head to toe faux fur, add some horns to a hat, and stuff some extra tights or socks to add more legs. Use a glue gun for quick work.

Random Things

Fluffy Cloud – With a bit of patience, you can turn papier mache into a wearable fluffy cloud by adding pillow stuffing or batting. For even more fun, make it a rain cloud by hanging paper raindrops with fishing line to the under side!

Hot Air Balloon – Grab a basket and connect it to a giant balloon with ribbons or rope for this super clever hot air balloon!

Crayon – There are tons of ways to create a simple crayon outfit for very inexpensive. Felt or tape, colored poster board and construction paper with a cone shaped hat in your choice of crayon color will do the trick!

Flower Pot – This adorable pot of flowers started out as a large plastic pot, a thrift store sweater, a dollar store hat and a bunch of silk flowers. Add a glue gun and some ribbon straps to hold it up and you’ve got the cutest little bunch of flowers on the block!

Cactus – This is a super easy idea and great for last minute costumers. All you need are solid green clothes – a dress is cute, but you could do cheap leggings and a t-shirt too. Then hot glue bits of knotted yarn all over for the prickers and make up some colorful pom poms for the flowers and you’ve got a great saguaro!

Tree – Here’s a cute idea to add interest to a tree costume! This shirt is cut into strips on the bottom, pulled to create fringe and then spotted with glued on felt leaves. Add a green tank underneath along with brown pants for the trunk and you’ve got a creative take on a tree!

Accessories and Extras

Super Hero Capes – If your super hero needs a cape, this is a great tutorial for making one out of felt that’s completely no-sew and very easy.

Hooded Cape – Little Red Riding Hood? Witch? Wizard? Princess? They all need hooded capes! Amazingly, you can create one with this great no-sew technique!

Bird Wings – These awesome bird wings can be created in any color felt for your choice of bird! They take a lot of cutting and gluing, but it’s easy to do (even if it’s not super fast…)

Felt Animal Masks – A cute mask can be the easiest costume there is when paired with the right colored clothes. You can make these using the free templates, some elastic and fabric glue!

Gnome Hat – Toddlers make great tiny gnomes, and here’s the easiest way to create a felt gnome hat in no time! Pair it with a fake white beard and long blue shirt with striped leggings and you’re good to go!

Kimberly Mueller is the “me” over at bugaboo, mini, mr & me, a blog that highlights her creative endeavors. She especially likes to share kid crafts, sewing attempts, recipes, upcycled projects, photography and free printable gift tags/cards. When she’s not enjoying being married to her best friend, chasing after the natives (AKA her three kids) and attempting to keep the house in one piece, you can find her with a glue gun in one hand and spray paint in the other. Aside from DIY pursuits, she also enjoys writing, reading, music, singing (mostly in the shower) and the color yellow. Kimberly recently published a craft book entitled Modern Mod Podge. You can also find her on Facebook, Pinterest,Bloglovin’ and Instagram. Email her at: bugabooblog(at)yahoo.com

Traditions are the stuff of memories. As we grow into adulthood, it’s the family traditions that we remember and look back on with fondness. Create your own traditions for your family, whether you have kids or not, and you’ll also create lots of precious memories that you’ll always remember. Here are 8 fun Thanksgiving traditions you might want to consider adding to your Thanksgiving celebrations!

Give every family member a 6-foot long piece of paper (try cash register paper rolls) at the beginning of the month and ask them to fill up the entire paper with things that they’re grateful for. It’s a good exercise for everyone to really think and be grateful for the good that they have in their lives. Then everyone could share their favorite ones at the big dinner!

Paint a couple of faux pumpkins white and write on it with a black sharpie the things that you’re thankful for. Ask everyone to add theirs and then decorate your dinner table with these pumpkins. Be sure to take pictures so you’ll always remember what was written. For your guests, give them small pumpkins of their own and ask them to do the same thing.

This is a cute traditions for kids to do year after year. The first year, have your kids decorate a box, such as a baby wipes box. Then give them pieces of paper in one color and ask them to write down a thing they’re grateful for. Store the boxes when Thanksgiving’s over and bring them back out for the next year’s Thanksgiving. This time, give them paper in a different color. After a few years, their boxes will be filled with slips of thankfulness in various colors. Everyone can look through their boxes and reminisce!

This thanksgiving tradition is centered around being thankful for each other. Give every guest pieces of paper with other guests’ names on each of them. Have them write down what they’re thankful for that person. Then everyone takes a turn and says out loud what they wrote on the paper and gives the paper to the person as a keepsake. This activity will make everyone feel great about themselves!

Thanksgiving Day Walk or Run

Many cities host a Turkey Trot or a similar running or walking event on the day of Thanksgiving. It could be a fun tradition for you and your family to get together and walk or run before getting together for a big, filling dinner. If your area doesn’t have anything like this, you could find a nice hike in your area and enjoy the fall foliage together before sitting down to eat at home.

For even more fun, you could all dress up for the special day and show off your outfits at the walk or run. For example, this threesome went all out and dressed up as pilgrims and a turkey. Or you could do something simpler and make t-shirts for everyone to wear. Whatever you decide to do, have fun with it.

Grab a plain table runner or cut one from fabric. Ask your kids to paint their hand and put it on the runner. Add their names and the year and have fun turning the hand prints into little turkeys. Pull it out the following Thanksgiving and have your kids do the same thing. It’ll be fun to see their little hands grow throughout the years until the table runner is all filled up!

Fall Scavenger Hunt

Doing a fall scavenger hunt as a family could be a fun Thanksgiving tradition before dinner or a way to burn off full stomachs after eating. Go to a nearby park with a fall scavenger hunt list and either do it together or compete in teams. Here’s a free printable, but you can always create your own list based on the things that you have in your area or park.

Get a book with blank pages and call it the “Book of Thanks” or whatever name you want to give to it. Every year just before dinner, take a group picture of everyone and save a spot for it in the book. On the pages, have every guest write what they’re thankful for that year. Print out the picture and put it in the middle of the pages. The next year, do the same thing and so on, so you can look back on it and see who got together which year and what everyone was thankful for. Such a nice memento!

Thanksgiving is all about family and friends, so it’s always nice to celebrate together with a few of your favorite Thanksgiving traditions. What other Thanksgiving traditions have you done with your family and friends?

“I’m Elisa and I live in Austin, Texas with my husband and our two little girls. I used to teach reading and writing, but now I stay at home with my two kiddos and read and write in my spare time. I also love to undertake DIY projects, find new recipes on Pinterest, and dream about someday finally completing our home. Above all, I love to learn about new things and sharing my new-found knowledge with others.” Please check out my blog What the Vita!”

Designate a corner of your playroom to act as a dress up area. Put a full-length mirror that’s tall enough for your kids and hang up their dresses and costumes near it. Your kids will love having everything at reach and a mirror for them to admire themselves. Add even more storage with an ottoman that can hold shoes, hats, scarves, and tiaras. If your kids have a lot of dress up clothes, you could DIY this nifty dress rack!

If you have an awkward wall in your playroom with a window and not much wall space, you can turn that spot into a window seat with side by side shelves. You don’t need to pay lots of money for a custom install — pay a visit to IKEA and grab three of their Kallax shelf units. Put one below the window and the other two standing on both sides of the window. Add storage boxes that fit into the shelves and a cushion on the “bench” and ta-da, you’ve got a great storage solution that looks great AND extra seating for your kiddos.

Don’t forget to decorate the walls with lots of art to stimulate your kids’ imagination and creativity. Not sure what art to use? Consider art from much-loved kids’ books, such as Eric Carle. Don’t go ripping up your kids’ books just yet — look for decorative prints of these books. Like this one! Or you could scour thrift stores for used copies of your kids’ favorite books and cut out pages from those.

Another great art idea for the playroom is interactive art: something that you can take down and let the kids play with, and then hang back up when they’re done. This truly great felt board is fun for kids to play with by rearranging all the people, vehicles, and animals in the park, but it also looks really nice in the playroom.

Kids create a lot of art and they love to see us display them. Make it easy by adding hanging clips in your playroom. Whenever your kids complete a masterpiece, you can just clip it up without fussing with tape or pins. And it’s easy to swap out older art pieces for newer ones. Depending on how many kids you have, you might want to have two or three or four of these hanging clips, or curtain wire with clips, which is what they’re called at IKEA.

Yes, hopscotch is traditionally an outdoor game, but there’s no reason why it can’t be moved indoors. The game is confined in the lines and there’s no real throwing, so go ahead and put it in your playroom! You could paint the lines right on the floor, but an easier solution would be to use tape to make the lines. Paint tape would work great on wood floors, while duct tape would be just fine for carpets. There’s a lot of colorful duct tape on the market now; choose one that matches your playroom’s decor.

Kids are physical creatures and they often need space to run, swing, and experiment with what their bodies can do. That’s usually done outside in a playground, but sometimes it’s too cold or too hot to go outside. If your playroom is big enough, consider putting in some playground features, like gymnastics rings, a climbing wall, a swing, a ball pit, or even a slide.

Chalkboard walls are popular in playrooms, but why not take an extra step and make your chalkboard wall magnetic? That way, your kids can draw with chalk AND play with magnets – double the fun. Use a combination of magnetic primer and chalkboard paint to make your magnetic chalkboard wall. Make sure to stir the magnetic primer thoroughly and do two coats so the magnets will stick to your wall. To make your chalkboard wall prettier, consider framing it with molding or window casing.

If you have texture on your walls, you still can have a magnetic chalkboard wall. Try this great tutorial!

Dedicate a spot in your playroom to the exciting activity of reading! There’s a lot you can do to make a reading corner a perfect place for your kids to sit back and escape into another world. Install rain gutter shelves or ledge shelves to hold your kids’ books, put down a couple of bean bags, and a lamp or sconce. You could also put in a tepee to make it even more cozy. If you have an unused closet in your playroom, you could turn it into a reading nook like this one.

Crayons, pencils, pens, markers, and chalk can get disorganized fast… but when they’re organized, they’re often hidden away and kids forget about them. Solve both problems by using glass jars, such as cookie jars or candy jars, to hold art supplies. These glass jars could be used to hold small toys, like marbles, and craft supplies, like stickers and pom-poms.

Do you have kids who are addicted to Legos? Organize all these tiny pieces with the help of a Lego table and a few plastic bins. There are many different versions of a Lego table, but a great one is this one hacked from an IKEA LACK coffee table. Put Lego road plates or any other Lego base plate on top and organize all the pieces by color or type into the plastic bins. Put the bins on the shelf and under the table and rest easy knowing you’ll never step on a tiny Lego piece again.

Not sure how to organize the plethora of stuffed animals that’s overtaking your playroom? Put them in wall mounted garden baskets! Take out the lining, spray paint the baskets in any color you like or leave them as is, and mount them on the wall. Put up all of your kids’ stuffed animals in these baskets. It’ll still be easy for your kids to see and if you hang them low, they can grab whatever stuffed animal they want. This is also a cute way to decorate a wall or a corner of your playroom.

How did you like these playroom ideas? I’m sure you’ll find a few ideas from this list that would be useful for your playroom. What other playroom ideas have caught your eye lately?

“I’m Elisa and I live in Austin, Texas with my husband and our two little girls. I used to teach reading and writing, but now I stay at home with my two kiddos and read and write in my spare time. I also love to undertake DIY projects, find new recipes on Pinterest, and dream about someday finally completing our home. Above all, I love to learn about new things and sharing my new-found knowledge with others.” Please check out my blog What the Vita!”

Halloween is fast-approaching, and what better way to get the house ready than with a few great sewing projects? If you’re lacking in the free time department but still have the “urge to serge,” take a look at these 37 ideas for decorative (and simple!) Halloween sewing projects. Choose one, two, or a few and start decorating and celebrating the spooky time of year!

Buntings, banners, and garlands

1. Penant bunting – A penant bunting can fit any holiday with the right fabrics, and the Halloween colors used for this one make it a perfect addition to the holiday decorations you already have.

2. Burlap ghost banner – This simple banner requires very little sewing and just a bit of paint. Perfect for a quick craft during the kids’ naptime!

6. Fabric pumpkins with ruffles – This basic tutorial for these cute fabric pumpkins is easy to follow. Add ruffles to your pumpkins for extra fun!

7. Fabric pumpkins with video tutorial – The Alison Show has a great video tutorial you can follow for more fabric pumpkins. Her video also includes instructions for adding yarn accents that give the pumpkins defined sections.

8. Burlap pumpkins – These pumpkins are basically the same as the fabric variety, but this tutorial includes a few extra tips for working with the burlap.

9. Hand-sewn upcycled shirt pumpkins – If you’re interested in trying a sewing project but lacking a sewing machine, follow the directions for these hand-sewn pumpkins made from old shirts or sweaters.

10. Primitive pumpkin characters – these little fellas are meant to be pincushions, but they’re so cute, why not display them instead? Fill a bowl or line a mantel with these whimsical pumpkin heads.

Pillows

11. Witch graphic pillow – Give any room a vintage holiday feel by adding a pillow with one of these fun graphics attached.

12. Pumpkin pillow – It’s a pillow and a fun stuffed pumpkin, versatile enough to rest on the couch or anywhere else you choose!

13. Fun felt bat pillow – The fun flapping bats on this simple felt pillow will bring a smile to the faces of your Halloween visitors.

14. Glitter striped pillow – Make a basic pillow form using drop cloth fabric and get crafty with some glitter paint and a fun iron-on.

19. Halloween face pillows – Play with different kinds of spooky (or smiley!) faces and pile these friends on your sofa for a cuddle.

20. Mummy wrapped pillow – Take a peek at this clever mummy pillow inspired by one seen at Pottery Barn! Start with a basic pillow form and start wrapping!

Table runners and table décor

21. Ribbon table runner – You may have seen this table runner floating around Pinterest – and it’s because it’s so easy! Use up your ribbon ends and put together this tabletop treat.

22. Burlap table runner – A little spray paint goes a long way to style this burlap table runner for a very classy Halloween.

23. Scrappy table runner – Got a few black and orange fabrics lying around? Use them up by making this scrappy table runner.

24. Ruffled table runner – Choose some fun black and white fabrics for this runner and add a pop of orange with a sweet ruffle on each end.

25. Halloween place mats – Use a creative stitch and some fun stencils to whip up a few of these Halloween place mats.

26. Pumpkin chair backers – Another great project to try when you don’t have a sewing machine, these pumpkin chair backers can be stuffed with goodies and customized for all of your Halloween guests.

Dolls, plushies, and other decorations

27. Giant felt porch spider – Replace the same-old shlumpy plastic bag spider with a fabulous felt one this year. The kids will love making friends with this friendly arachnid.

28. Hanging witch’s legs – This clever décor will be the talk of the party! Just stuff a little here and sew a little there and you’ll have this pair of witch’s legs done in no time.

29. Bat plushies – Stash a few of these bat plushies around the house to brighten even the darkest corner!

30. Ruffle Halloween trees – Create a spooky forest for your mantle or as a centerpiece for your next costume party with these ruffle trees.

31. Happy hanging spooks – They can hang from just about anywhere! Try bring in some small tree branches and placing them in a vase, then hanging your spooks on their “Halloween tree.”

32. Hand towels – Try these two fun ways to style a pair of plain hand towels and dress up your bathroom for your spooky festivities!

33. Kooky primitive cat plushies – Just freehand a crooked cat form, cut two, and stitch it together (like a pillow) to form the base for these crazy kittens. Follow the tutorial for some great ways to add their fun features.

34. Sweet stick ghosts – This project is simple enough even the kids can pitch in. Sew a few of these friendly ghosts to dress up a tabletop.

Kayla Lilly is a photographer, writer, wife, and mama making a house a home in eastern Idaho. She met her mister while working at an amusement park and married him a year later after deciding there was no way to live without him. The amusement has continued as they’ve added three kids and a passel of pets to their lives while finishing college and starting a photography business. Drawing inspiration from the whirlwinds of marriage, parenthood, and the media, Kayla blogs at Utterly Inexperienced, and spends the rest of her time chasing chickens, organizing junk drawers, diapering toddlers, and photographing everyone willing to step in front of her lens.

Simple Ideas for Carving Pumpkins

Carving pumpkins doesn’t have to be difficult. Try one of these simple pumpkin carving ideas for an ooh-worthy pumpkin without the stress.

We’ve seen them on our neighbors’ porches – those stunning works of art immortalized in the amber roundness of a pumpkin and glowing for all to see. Pirate ships on a bubbling sea, witches soaring across a full moon, haunted houses with bats in the belfry, and all other elaborately carved Halloween magic. But if you’re developing anxiety just thinking about the costumes you’ve got to throw together, the mega-bag of candy you forgot to buy, and how you should probably replace the light bulb on the front porch before All Hallow’s Eve arrives – an intricately carved pumpkin is probably the last thing on your list. If that’s the case, these straightforward simple pumpkin carving ideas will put your mind at ease while giving your porch a pumpkin punch!

If you’re tired of trying to create the same old toothy Jack-o-lantern or spending time on intricate patterns, try something like this! A simple, repeating pattern of shapes turns out a unique kind of pumpkin that will certainly shed light on your visitors. A fall leaf shape is a great way to make a decoration that can stay on the porch even beyond Halloween. See the Simple Leaf Pumpkins.

Creativity can take time, but your trick-or-treaters won’t be able to tell how quick this design came together! Cut the holes yourself, or use a couple of ½- and 1- inch drill bits to make it even easier. See the “Mouse House” Pumpkin.

there’s a lot of mess that goes along with gutting a pumpkin, not to mention the amount of time it takes. So why not forego the gutting altogether with a few linoleum cutting tools and a little trick like this? No cutting, just carving. And – bonus – this one will last longer than a traditionally carved squash. See the Surface Carved Pumpkin.

A monogram letter is a great way to add a touch of class to the front walk. Keep it simple using the first letter of your last name or go crazy and spell it all out! If you’re in the mood for something more complex, spell out a Halloween word or two, such as “spooky” or “boo!” Just print a template from the computer in the font of your choice, cut it out, and get carving. See the Monogram Pumpkins.

A Jack-o-lantern face or a carving pattern from a kit can be found among anyone’s décor. Go a step beyond your former, lack-luster pumpkin boundaries by cutting some basic squares and adding a touch of paint. See the Haunted House Pumpkins.

Carving pumpkins doesn’t have to be difficult. You don’t have to resort to the same old-same old or spend hours attempting a masterpiece. Your porch can become a work of art without all the fuss this year by trying out a few of these simple, unique carving ideas. And if you’re looking for more Halloween inspiration, head on over to Remodelaholic for some spooktacular ideas!

Kayla Lilly is a photographer, writer, wife, and mama making a house a home in eastern Idaho. She met her mister while working at an amusement park and married him a year later after deciding there was no way to live without him. The amusement has continued as they’ve added three kids and a passel of pets to their lives while finishing college and starting a photography business. Drawing inspiration from the whirlwinds of marriage, parenthood, and the media, Kayla blogs at www.utterlyineperienced.blogspot.com, and spends the rest of her time chasing chickens, organizing junk drawers, diapering toddlers, and photographing everyone willing to step in front of her lens.